To protect the safety of patients and staff, there is an ongoing need in hospitals to control the spread of transmissible diseases. There are a variety of procedures and devices utilized reduce or eliminate the spread of contagion within hospitals, clinics, doctors' offices, and other patient care facilities. Of particular concern is the control of disease spread from within hospital isolation rooms. Patients in isolation rooms are constantly producing transmissible organisms that can be spread by coughing, sneezing, talking, and by contact with people or equipment. Doctors, nurses, technicians and other hospital staff are often required to enter isolation rooms in order to tend to patients and are usually enrobed in protective clothing, such as gown, gloves, hats, booties, and masks to ensure that transmissible organisms are not transmitted to or from the patient.
There are also a multitude of instruments that may be used during examination of a patient. Some of these instruments may reside in the room, others may be removed after completion of an examination. While many of the instruments removed from an isolation room are amenable to sterilization, others are not. For example, many doctors, nurses, and other medical staff often have personal, preferred stethoscopes, or other hand held devices, that they use when examining patients. But, many stethoscopes and other types of devices cannot be quickly sterilized by standard procedures, if at all. Thus, medical professionals often do not use their own comfortable, familiar devices in isolation rooms, to avoid contamination. This can lessen the accuracy of an examination because professionals are forced to use unfamiliar devices, or devices that may be of inferior quality.
There are several different kinds of covers known in art that can be used to protect a person's hands or for covering medical devices. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,171,542 and 7,073,204 describe medical gowns with enclosures for protecting hands or devices. U.S. Published Application No. 2007/0267026 discloses a cover for medical instruments. However, these covers tend to be difficult and time-consuming to use, or can restrict movement. Often, they are difficult or time-consuming to remove without contaminating the user or the instrument.